Time Travel: The Most Ridiculous Theory In Science

Time travel is the most ridiculous theory in science. Its proponents adamantly vouch that any day now, there will be an invention – a machine or a mechanism – which will work so systematically that we can already go back to the past or move forward into the future, anytime we desire and by just pushing a button. With that, the birth of the universe can be witnessed, assassination attempts on key figures in history would be botched, future disasters can be avoided, and bungled opportunities can be given another chance.

It will be a sheer restructuring of human existence. But all of these are just products of our age-old longing to ascertain the origins, nature, and future of the universe, and of our existence. They’re all a fairy tale, hence childish and ridiculous.

Time travel proponents rely on a number of instances to advance the possibility of their claim. Three of them are light travel, space travel, and space-time warp.

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Light travel

Light continuously travels in space, and all lights that we see in space are already history. The sun that reaches the earth is eight minutes old; thus, its light that we see and its heat that we feel are always past. The stars that twinkle at night are only reflections of their past. Many of these stars might have been extinct for billions of years already, but their reflections are still hurtling toward our planet and beyond. Time travel proponents claim that if the past of the sun and stars can be seen or felt, so can the past of humanity and the universe.

Light is the only matter in the universe that can travel through the vastness of space for billions of years. It is also the only one that can leave in the past its essence, which can be seen or felt by humans upon reaching the Earth. As to why light is the only one like that is an enigma.

Light differs virtually with sound. Sound can not leave its essence in the past. It can not travel in space. Sounds create echoes in areas appropriate for echoes, but echoes don’t travel that far. They easily fade out; hence, sounds and their echoes have no past that can be heard in some other space-time. We have yet to listen to sounds produced by some celestial events that had occurred in the past.

The sounds created by the high-velocity collision between Jupiter and the comet Shoemaker-Levy in 1994 are a proof that sound can not travel in space. Those collision sounds did not reach the Earth; they remained within Jupiter’s immediate reach.

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Human past

Let us assume for a while that a machine which can go back to the past has been invented now. Its inventor, Mark, rides it to travel back to the days when he was 15 years old. He reaches that period, manages to talk with the teenage him, and then experimentally brings the teenager into our time.

What will happen then? Mark’s youth will be discontinued because it is brought into the future. There would no longer be a youth who would continue Mark into the older age, and so there would no longer be an older Mark who would invent the time machine.

That will be the breakdown of everything logical. But that scenario will never happen because, unlike light, our physical past has no “living environment” that can be seen or felt in some other space-time. It easily fades out, like sound.

Human past exists in memory, in fossils, in artifacts, in writings, and in preservation instruments. But its “living physical environment”where one can return to, walk around, mingle with people there, and live for a certain period is nowhere. It does not exist. Each of our yesterdays evaporates into nothingness each time the sun goes down over the horizon. Therefore, we can not go back to it.

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Fast travel

Travel into the future can allegedly be done through a machine that travels at the speed of light (which is about 186,000 miles per second). If such machine travels into space at the speed of light for about an hour, the machine could have leaped into the future by about 60,000 years. When it lands back on Earth, the year in the calendar would be 60,000 A.D.

Again, this is unlikely. Humans can never develop such a machine because human limitations can not go within or beyond the speed of light. A machine that can travel at the speed of light is countless times more powerful than atomic energy, and so the machine itself can be vaporized in a matter of seconds.

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Space-time warp

Space-time warp is allegedly another method that once done can also realize time travel. To avoid traveling the vast distance between two points in space, this method should be applied: Warp the space, so that the two points would be nearer to each other.

It’s like a sheet of paper being folded in the middle, so that its two ends would meet. It’s also like the sun assuming the role of a bowling ball resting in the middle of bed. The longer the ball rests in the middle, the more it sinks deeper and the more it pulls the bed toward itself.

Space-time warp is another theory that will never be made applicable. It’s because space is not like a sheet of paper that can be folded, for it has no continuous solid properties that can be warped. The sun has no solid matter to rest on in space for it to be able to warp space.

If the sun’s gravity could warp space and time, then the entire solar system, which is billions of years old already, could have long ago become a vortex: As the sun keeps sucking the planets, the faster the planets would revolve around it until it eats all the planets. But it does not happen. The sun only keeps getting older, and the planets and moons have remained in a constant precision: They travel in accurate paths, governed by the laws of inertia, gravity, and centrifugal forces.

Space-time warp is an unproven theory. Its only supporting speculation thus far is an eclipse that happened in 1919 in West Africa. The British team observing the eclipse noted that the stars near the sun changed position during the eclipse; but in reality, their light was bent or bent itself while it passed the sun and thus reached the Earth. In other words, during such phenomenon, an optical illusion occurs: When starlight is blocked by a huge celestial body like the sun, light is bent (or bends itself) in order to reach the Earth, and the stars look like they are in a place where they are not really there. An illusion, indeed.

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Fantastic assurance

Time travel is a scientific propaganda that will remain in the wishing well. Its degree of possibility is within an impoverished child’s fairy tale imagination of stars falling into the Earth as diamonds and thus helping his family find a way to abundance and prosperity.

While time travel proponents are our modern-day alchemists. Alchemy is an ancient science or superstition of turning lead into gold. It has long ago been abandoned.

The only consolation we have with time travel is that it provides the emotional (yet fantastic) assurance that we humans can someday, somehow, know the reasons why we exist in a limitless universe.

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Author

Jon E. Royeca 5 years agofrom Pasay City, Metro Manila, Philippines

@ Fezwell, your point has already been answered in my comment just above yours.

Fezwell 5 years ago

great story but i think you should be more open about time travel although we have no answer now there may be something in our future that is the key to unlocking its mysteries

Author

Jon E. Royeca 5 years agofrom Pasay City, Metro Manila, Philippines

Yes, I have read that piece of Einstein, but I do not agree with many of the things that he had made up there.

With regard to matter, it doesn't always mean energy or some other things, does it? Here's an example:

"What is the matter with you?"

It doesn't mean:

"What is the energy with you?"

I have already explained earlier above what matter here means.

Author

Jon E. Royeca 5 years agofrom Pasay City, Metro Manila, Philippines

The Theory of Time Travel dictates that the past, the present, and the future are all contemporaneous (they all exist at the same time). The past has existed, continues to exist, and is still existing right now; the present does exist; and the future has already begun to exist and is also existing right now. Thus, if there is a time machine, anyone from the past, the present, or the future can always go from his own time to any of the two other periods.

If this be the case, then the end of history or the most advanced future must have already begun to exist and is existing right now. Therefore, the peoples of that period must have already invented the time machine and must have already visited the past and the present. They must have given the present all solutions to diseases, hunger, and other problems plaguing humanity. And they must have altered history by preventing World Wars I and II and other bloody human conflicts, as well as all other natural or man-made disasters.

But where are the peoples of the most advanced future?

We, the peoples of the present, think that the most advanced future is not yet existing because the peoples of the future are still developing civilization towards that most advanced future.

This thinking is contrary to Time Travel Theory which upholds the contemporaneous existence of the past, the present, and the future, including the most advanced future.

Given all these arguments, it's about time that we accept this absolute reality: The past has already existed and faded out, the present is the only one existing, and the future is yet to exist.

M4rv1n 5 years ago

Oh I forgot to add this:

"Light is the only matter in the universe that can travel through the vastness of space for billions of years."

This is also wrong, because when you shoot a grain of sand into space, there is no friction, it will go on until it reaches something to collide with. Just like light will go on until it reaches something that absorbs it. So, because the grain of sand travels slower than light, anything can probably travel through the vastness of space for longer than light before it reaches something to collide with.

(Also, light is not matter, but I think you didn't really mean it that way...)

M4rv1n 5 years ago

You say:

"Humans can never develop such a machine because human limitations can not go within or beyond the speed of light. A machine that can travel at the speed of light is countless times more powerful than atomic energy, and so the machine itself can be vaporized in a matter of seconds."

Nonsense...

First of all, nothing can travel at the speed of light except light itself, however we can come closer and closer to the speed of light, but we can never reach it, that would require an infinite amount of energy.

(Read Einstein's Theory of Special Relativity for the reasons why)

Humans can travel near the speed of light with the right equipment, just don't accelerate too fast or we would be flattened. And about the machine being vaporized: why would it be vaporized? You can use magnetic fields to keep the heat away, so nothing gets vaporized except your "fuel".

Now you also say:

"If the sun’s gravity could warp space and time, then the entire solar system, which is billions of years old already, could have long ago become a vortex: As the sun keeps sucking the planets, the faster the planets would revolve around it until it eats all the planets. But it does not happen. The sun only keeps getting older, and the planets and moons have remained in a constant precision: They travel in accurate paths, governed by the laws of inertia, gravity, and centrifugal forces."

While it has been predicted by Einstein and later on proven that the sun does indeed warp space and time, just like anything with gravity(which includes everything with mass, but usually these objects are too small to notice the gravity). Light travels through the bended space which explains gravitational lensing(proven by telescopes and Einstein's Theory of General Relativity).

About your weird vortex idea: complete nonsence...

What do you think gravity is? It is the curvature of spacetime, it's not a force, but it can be analysed as one, because it acts like a force. The direction of gravitational forces to the planets is perpendicular to the direction the planets are moving, so their speed does not change, it's called orbit you know? The planets and such are in orbit.

The idea of a bowling ball on a bed is just a very simplified way to show reality, you act like it's exactly what happens... And FYI: the bowling ball would not sink deeper and deeper, it would stop sinking: if you wake up in the morning you didn't disappear into the mattress did you? Everything finds a equilibrium.

Gravity is more like the bowling ball on a mattress, without friction. (there is no friction in the vacuum of space. Now if you roll a lighter ball around the bowling ball it would remain in the same orbit all the time.

Now I'm not saying time travel is possible, I'm just pointing out that your explanations are wrong.

Next time you write something about gravity of whatever, make sure you understand what it is, or at least study the Special an General Theory of Relativity by Einstein...

Adam Garfield-Turner 5 years agofrom Michigan

Jon I think this hub is educational. I disagree with you about the probability of time travel. Maybe it is an invention waiting to happened in the near future.

francesca 6 years ago

now with this article I finally undestand why nature is sheet we can't travel in time we won't become more intelligent and so what can we do?

joseph bulay-og 6 years ago

as far us we are concern,all things well be made to happen.like 4 example the metal there are lots of uses of them.

someonewhodoesntknow 7 years ago

Given our current understanding of physics, I would have to agree that we cannot explain any realistic means of traveling faster than the speed of light. The funny thing about science, mathematics, and physics is that we continue to discover new things every day. Our understanding of the universe is still in its infancy. For example, we understand the effects of gravity, but not the fundamental reason for its existence. We know that 2 atoms separated by a certain distance will attract each other and eventually pull themselves toward each other. We explain this phenomenon as gravity.

Imagine if you were standing on the shores of Spain in 1492 and told Christopher Columbus that we could get to the new world in 3 hours. His response would be "you can't get a ship to go that fast".

While I am not an expert in quantum physics, I do have a doctorate in Electrical Engineering specializing in Optics and Lasers. The one things I have learned throughout my life is that the more you learn, the more you learn how little you know.

Hubbard 7 years ago

Well "Me", there are a few things that you need to know. First of all, it was ignorant and inappropriate of you to bring any notion of religion into this discussion. Science and religion are in no way related unless you take visual perception of our universe into perspective. Second, When you say, "its all there," I would like to know a little about what you mean. Yes we have science and technology and we can try our best explain as much as we can about what we now believe to be true but that only accounts for such a small part. I do relate to you however when you say, "...But a long time ago people didn't believe that internet is possible. But here we are now.". It is fascinating to think that just 100 years ago, telling someone that there is such thing as the internet would make you something of a madman or crazy person. The fact that today we have a source of knowledge so vast at our fingertips is still mind-boggling. I wish i had more answers to the questions that we all have but ironically, only time holds some of the answers. The others are left for our dreams and imaginations. Not everything is possible, basic physics will tell you that. However, the comfort behind believing what you are told is a whole other mind warping discussion.

me 7 years ago

Some people think that god is impossible but it is possible. It is true. These things can happen. Its all there. It just doesn't come together. Do I think that anyone will figure it out? No. But a long time ago people didn't believe that internet is possible. But here we are now.

Author

Jon E. Royeca 7 years agofrom Pasay City, Metro Manila, Philippines

But this theory has been with us since man began the intellectual and scientific revolution. And we all have failed to get it. Each of our efforts to go back there is just inutile. Of course, all of us want to learn things, but not through the ridiculous ways.

Thanks for reading and for the comments.

someonewhoknows 7 years agofrom south and west of canada,north of ohio

Jon E. Royeca ,

you say you want to know the purpose of human existance.To some extent,it's to expand the expression of the life force,in the universe and to fully explore it.What were you expecting the answer would be?

It is interesting to note that Nikola Tesla was quoted as saying that by producing a "wall of light" (no doubt with electromagnetic energy) space and time could be manipulated.

Light is pure energy,and all materials are made of electro-magnetic energy.

To live is to learn,otherwise we are just wasting time.

We are all time travelers.Here to experiance this universe and we have to start at the bottom ,just as a child who wants to hurry up and grow up to an age of independence.Then they realize that being a grown up is, not like being a child,and may decide that being a child has more advantages,it's all relative.

When you take a photograph or record sounds,you are in effect recording a portion of time,in a localized area,in the form of light,in the case of the photo.Since sound has energy,I would say it too has a connection to time,since time and matter are intimately connected.

What's so rediculous? We all travel,and it always takes time.Recording movies of when you were a child,and replaying them back when you get much older,definitely gives the feeling of time travel,if ,not the real thing.Of,course when I say real time travel I 'm refering to going back ,or forward in time.

How would life be if we never aged,meaning always being in infancy,or stopping at a certain age when ever we wanted to.It,sure would be crowded around here wouldn't it.

Then I also believe in re-incarnation. Like they say once is never enough.The same is true of life.

Author

Jon E. Royeca 7 years agofrom Pasay City, Metro Manila, Philippines

Well, thanks again, optical illusion.

Optical Illusion 7 years ago

I find it interesting how you always say "Thank you for joining my fan club," Mr. Royeca.Nonetheless, your take on the concept of Time Travel is quite permissible.

Author

Jon E. Royeca 7 years agofrom Pasay City, Metro Manila, Philippines

Thanks, drax. Quantum physics? Oh, well, I don't know.

des donnelly 7 years agofrom NYC....

most interesting and well written article, one wonders how the quantum gang will react when they get here ;-)

Author

Jon E. Royeca 7 years agofrom Pasay City, Metro Manila, Philippines

Thank you,donna, for your comments and for agreeing that this is just a fantasy -- a good, relaxing fantasy.

donna bamford 7 years agofrom Canada

I didn't even know that anyone took it seriously and I wrote a fantasy for 11-12-13 year olds in which the time machines are digital watches that are"magic". But i agree with you . it is fantasy and fun fantasy at that and allows endless possiblities in writing time travel stories. but they are just that - stories I think even if they help us delve a little deeper from Back to the Future

to Jules Verne. Good article - well argued aand presented.

Author

Jon E. Royeca 7 years agofrom Pasay City, Metro Manila, Philippines

Hello, liminal. I wish I were wrong, so that all that enigma about human existence would finally be known. Thanks for the comments.

Hi, Nell. I wish the studies you've mentioned can be readily possible, meaning anyone can do it. Because, I really want to know what we humans are for. And, perhaps, time travel is one of those that could give us the answers. However, time travel is just not possible.

Hi, Maggie Butler. You also have doubts, eh. I will also be reading your works. I just need some time for them.

Thanks to both of for the comments. And for joining my fan club.

Maggie Butler 7 years agofrom Little Ole' Iowa

Very interesting hub. I highly doubt we will ever see time travel, but it fun to think about and makes for interesting stories.... Thanks. Looking forward to more of your hubs....

Nell Rose 7 years agofrom England

Hi, I do tend to agree with you, but then there is the matter of quantum physics that states that electrons and protons can circle each other millions of miles apart, and some can effect the past, in other words imagine two tennis balls, one now one in the past but they are connected. if one is squashed the other one in the past becomes squashed. this has been studied by scientists over the last few years, so maybe it will happen, who knows? very interesting hub, thanks Nell

Author

Jon E. Royeca 7 years agofrom Pasay City, Metro Manila, Philippines

If something is impossible, it's not always ridiculous. However, we are talking here about one that is really funny: A scientific theory that is believed in by many people and is given much time and resources, when it is completely impossible to be had. Thanks again, J Rosewater, for reading.

J Rosewater 7 years agofrom Australia

Just because something is impossible does not mean it is ridiculous: but I suppose it is difficult to distinuish between matter and substance.

Author

Jon E. Royeca 7 years agofrom Pasay City, Metro Manila, Philippines

Well, if such things can be made possible, I could only be glad, for we can finally know why we humans exist. But as of now, everything is fantasy, really. Thank you for the comments and for joining my fan club, Cow Flipper!

Sean Jankowski 7 years agofrom Southern Oregon

The planets orbit around the our Sun in free fall in gravitational corridors where the mass of the planet cancels out a fast free fall into the sun. Mass ensures the warp of physical space time this coupled with inertia along with the space curve allows for our orbit to exist or yes we'd all be crispy critters.

Is time travel possible, not now... our limited understanding and application of the energies of the universe prevent us from understanding the dynamics of space time manipulation. Perhaps we will never travel through time but you must not rule out the fact that nature has a funny way of doing things human beings can and will never fathom. Time is a physical attribute of our universe, a measure of the second law of thermal dynamics. Time is an illusion of perception and there is only the perception of time. I write about the true nature of time on one of my hubs. Time travel may be real but only if you can understand the full nature of matter.

Author

Jon E. Royeca 7 years agofrom Pasay City, Metro Manila, Philippines

I do agree, janiek. By the way, thank you so much for joining my fan club.

"Light is the only thing in the universe that can travel through the vastness of space for billions of years."

Paul 7 years ago

light is energy not matter.

Author

Jon E. Royeca 7 years agofrom Pasay City, Metro Manila, Philippines

Thank you for the comments, opinion duck. I am not a scientist, just a plain reader. But I have long ago been convinced that time travel is just pure and romantic fantasy.

opinion duck 7 years ago

Very well thought out and well written article on the absurdity of time travel.

The misleading use of time in the concept of time travel as you mentioned is history. The time that it takes light ot travel is used to determine the time of its source. As in the 8 minute old sun light.

The time in time travel that is the subject of the HG Wells Time Travel machine is more local. It is time that has zero distance involved on a specific piece of Earth. Yes, the Earth travels around the Sun but we can't use a worm hole to get to 1776 in Boston when it is 2009 in Los Angeles.

Time is a reference to be measured so that events can be understood. Time is not the variable it is the constant. If time was the variable then events could shrink or expand. Events don't do that, at least none have been observed or recorded.

Time and space are linked together to plot the universe. It is interesting that we see light at its source and at its destination and when it goes through something that reflects it. We see reflected light on the moon and direct light from the Sun. Between those points we don't see it, not as a visible color. So that means that nothing is in its path between those points.

Basically we don't know much about Space, yet we can tell about objects that are 100s of millions of light years ago. Amazing....

Author

Jon E. Royeca 8 years agofrom Pasay City, Metro Manila, Philippines

Thank you for the comments, maja2150. Time travel will never happen. I'm very sure of that. It's like the old science of alchemy -- turning lead into gold -- which has never happened and will never happen.

maja2150 8 years ago

I think you'd find Michio Kaku in his PHYSICS OF THE IMPOSSIBLE disagrees with you.

Of course it seems completely impossible to many of us now, perhaps as impossible as our current technology would have seemed to the earliest members of our species.